A note on the relationship between Scandinavian and Low German
Journal article, Peer reviewed
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http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2422932Utgivelsesdato
2016Metadata
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Sammendrag
Recent work on language contact between Scandinavian and Low German during the Middle
Ages widely assumes that the varieties were linguistically close enough to permit some kind
of receptive multilingualism, and hence an example of dialect contact. Two arguments that
have been invoked in support of this scenario are the lack of (1) meta-linguistic comments on
flawed understanding, and (2) attested bilingualism. However, towards the end of the most
intense contact period, in the early sixteenth century, there is indeed meta-linguistic information
in the preserved sources suggesting that intelligibility was restricted. Furthermore,
there are also examples of code-switching and active bilingualism indicating that the varieties
were clearly perceived as distinct languages. This paper presents such examples from
Norwegian primary sources that have not been observed in recent scholarship. Based on this
evidence, it is argued that the relationship between the languages by the early sixteenth
century was asymmetric, Scandinavians being able to understand Low German more often
than vice versa.